Exhibit: Contrasts: Suffering & Hope

Contrasts: Suffering & Hope Exhibit at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa Oct. 28-Dec. 5, 2011

This body of work was created in 2011 for Luther College's sesquicentennial celebration. Several alumnae artists were invited to exhibit to commemorate 150 years of existence. I had recently been thinking of working on some paintings that wrestle with the concept of human suffering and our response to it. Because of a recent diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, an auto-immune disease, I felt that Luther's theme of "Transformed by the Journey" fit pretty perfectly into my last three years of battling RA. I've had a lot of time to think, as daily rest is part of my normal now. As I suffered with this onset, I became more fully aware of the suffering of others. Funny how that works. I felt a pull to speak to this visually, and the invitation from Luther spurred the creation of 19 of these 20 paintings. Though suffering is one of those things that people mostly carry silently, it is probably one of the most common things we experience as humans, whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual. In preparation, I did a lot of reading on lament, suffering and hope. I found the Psalms to be a steadfast companion, its ancient words of lament and hope rang true. I thought a lot about contrasts, how we use that tool in art to bring your eye to a certain area, to clarify things. And so, also, the contrast of suffering and hope. How ironic that I could more clearly see the beauty and gift that hope is, because I experienced great pain and weakness.

I have included a quote with each piece that either inspired the work or enhanced/deepened it for me afterward. Click here for an article about the preparation for my exhibit by bloggist, Laurie Ashbach, called inside{out}. Click here for an article in Luther College's Chips newspaper by student Charlie Parrish-Siggelkow.

Diagnosis

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call.

For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
I am too wasted to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my skin.
I am like an owl of the wilderness,
like a little owl of the waste places.
I lie awake;
I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
Psalm 102 (acrylic on gessobord, 24x18” )

Fabric Torn

I am no longer afraid of death,
I know well
its dark, cold corridors
leading to life.

I am afraid rather of that life
which does not come out of death,
which cramps our hands
and slows our march.

I am afraid of my fear
and even more of the fear of others,
who do not know where they are going,
who continue clinging
to what they think is life
which we know to be death!

I live each day to kill death;
     I die each day to give birth to life,
                                                                                            and in this death of death,
                                                                                            die a thousand times
                                                                                            and am reborn another thousand
                                                                                            through that love
                                                                                                                   from my People,
                                                                                                                   which nourishes hope!
                                                                                                                   Julia Esquivel, Guatamala
                                                                                                                                  (acrylic on gessobord, 24x18” )

Presence

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
                                Psalm 62.5:

( acrylic on gessobord, 36x24”)
SOLD

Thirsting

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
while people say to me continually, 'Where is your God?'”
Psalm 42:2-3
(acrylic on gessobord, 36x24” ) SOLD

Divine Spark

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.

I circle around God,
around the primordial tower.
I've been circling for thousands of years
and I still don't know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Rainer Maria Rilke

(acryiic on watercolor paper, 22x30” ) SOLD

Yoke

Come to me, all you that are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30 SOLD

(acrylic triptych on gessobord, 12"x12" squares)

Sanctuary

But faith does not mean having answers;
it means being willing to live without answers.

Richard Rohr, Job and the Mystery of Suffering
(acrylic on watercolor paper, 30" x 22")
SOLD

Perception

God's call is mysterious; it comes in the darkness of faith.
It is so fine, so subtle, that it is only with the deepest silence
within us that we can hear it.

Carlo Carretto, from Letters from the Desert
(acrylic on watercolor paper, 30" x 22")

Deeply Rooted

Even in the midst of suffering, the taproot
of his spirit was deeply anchored in the goodness of God.

Robert Corin Morris, Suffering and the Courage of God

(acrylic on gessobord 36x24” )

Connected

Since the mystery of the suffering world is
ultimately the mystery of the suffering Christ,
its most important use is to open our hearts to
the flow of God’s own lament over the
destructiveness of human folly, longing
for human cooperation and laboring
to reshape the human heart in the
divine image.

Robert Corin Morris, Suffering the Courage of God
(acrylic on canvas 16x20")

Worlds Within Worlds

For the world and time are the dance of the Lord in emptiness.
The silence of the spheres is the music of the wedding feast.
The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life,
the more we analyze them out into strange finalities and complex purposes of our own, the more we involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity and despair. But it does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things,
or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there.

Thomas Merton
(acryiic on watercolor paper 22x30” )
This painting has changed since this exhibit and has been renamed. See it under Purchase Originals under the Exhibit tab.

Be Still and Know

Be still and Know That I am God.
Psalm 46:10
(acrylic on gessobord, 24x36” )
SOLD

Hills & Valleys

He made streams come out of the rock, 
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

Psalm 78.16:
(acrylic on illustration board, 30" x 20")
SOLD

Infinite

Stamp me in your heart
Upon your limbs,
Sear my emblem deep
Into your skin.

For love is as strong as death,
Harsh as the grave,
Its tongues are flames, a fierce
And holy blaze.

Endless seas and floods,
Torrents and rivers
Never put out love’s
Infinite fires.
Marcia Falk
(acrylic on illustration board, 20" x 30")

Layers

By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us,
penetrates us, and molds us. We imagined it as distant and inaccessible,
whereas in fact we live steeped in its burning layers.

Teilhard de Chardin
(acrylic on illustration board 30x10”
SOLD

Living Waters

Lord,
help us find the well
where you await us
at every stage of our lives.
And we shall set out again,
thirsting, at last,
for none but the living water
which you have promised us.

Pierre Talec

(acrylic on watercolor paper, 22x30") SOLD

Ceaseless Hope

...suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint us,
because God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
that has been given to us.

Romans 5:5
(acrylic on watercolor paper 22x30” )
SOLD

You Turn My Footsteps to Dancing

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed
me with joy, so that my soul may praise you
and not be silent. O Sovereign my God,
I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 30:11-12
(48x72” acrylic on canvas)
SOLD